ESPN blew the 2006 draft coverage in a major way...

[swede]

I was watching "The Parent Trap" on the Disney Channel and "Animal cops, MIami" on "Animal Planet" channel. There was this stupid vat technician that reminded me of Michael Irvin. I think they focused too much on the tragedy of the animal owners (living in squalor, etc.) and didn't explain enough about each animal - you know, how fast they can run, how far/high they can jump, etc. Animal Planet has really gone downhill.

Back off AynRand!

I'm the village weirdo here!

[Joemailman]

You're right on, Gureski. I watch the draft so I can see who gets picked, hear a little about each guy from the talking heads, and maybe some roundtable about any draft intrigue (like the Queens forgetting to make their pick a couple of years ago).

I sure as hell don't care about the fluff pieces, nor do I care to see Reggie Bush dressed as a pimp or Vince Young looking like he's wearing a diaper with an "S" on the back of it.

Seemed like everytime the Pack was on the clock, they'd go to commercial. It sucked.

Don't forget about the riveting interview with Marcus Vick. Wouldn't have wanted to miss that. At least hey got him off of the street for awhile.

[swede]

Seemed like everytime the Pack was on the clock, they'd go to commercial. It sucked.

I agree. Coincidence or DISRESPECT!

Who do they think their audience is? Hard core fans like us want hard core facts, up-to-date information, and a little discussion about every pick. Unlike the Superbowl, girlfriends and wives don't make up a third of the audience.

[beakerman]

I forget her name, but it starts with a Suzy.... how the hell does she have a job? and why the heck do we have to suffer threw her pointless obvious questioning.... Seriously she was on the Sunday Night telecasts doing there sideline reporting as well, everytime she piped in with a comment it was bathroom/beer time...... At least ABC just inserted hot chick here to hold a mike on the sidelines.... please ESPN spare us of this SHE BEAST.....

[swede]

FWIW, one thing I did like about ESPN's coverage was having the team-by team picks up top and a rolling line of the present round only showing below. You could tune out the drivel and find out what was going on in a pretty big hurry.

[FritzDontBlitz]

yes i thought the draft coverage was terrible. the players made idiots of themselves posing and flexing while dressed as pimps (THANK GOD aj hawk refused to participate). they kissed up to the same group of players and teams over and over, while basically trashing or calling into question everything the packers did. i don't know how many times i heard "denver gets a good grade for the draft because of the trade to acquire javon walker" or "jay cutler's gonna be going to be helped by throwing to javon walker". not one of the prognosticators even mentioned the fact that walker is still rehabbing a knee injury that caused him to miss an entire season, they talked like he was gonna lead denver to the super bowl singlehandedly. it was pretty bad.

the only highlight of the weekend was big will henderson rising to defend his newly drafted teammates and brett. it sent a huge hush thru the studio, totally awesome.

most of it was typical disney company hype. it'll probably be released on "disney dvd" in a month or so....

[MJZiggy]

Good. I missed the best part. They'll probably release it with that part edited out.

[MadtownPacker]

That was seriously the most painful thing to watch, the players making fools of themselves on the mock runway. Im am so proud to say the Hawk turned that shit down and decided to kick it with his family.

Only good part was Henderson tearing up Kiper and Joe Gibbs calling out Salsibury.

[MJZiggy]

I have a hard enough time trying to keep track of what picks we have and what picks we trade to whom for what. But it makes it more challenging when the little icon on top changes and they DON'T EVEN TELL YOU WHAT'S GOING ON. "Oh look, they've traded that pick" and Michael, how do you think this class will compare with the Cowboys of the 90's?"

Yeesh.

[AtlPackFan]

There were times at the end of the first day where Irvin and Jackson were being so obnoxious on the set that Berman "shushed" them. Seriously. You could hear the two of them cutting up while Mortenson and Kiper were giving their analysis of picks. It had to be embarrassing for ESPN. Kiper and Mortenson looked liked they were ready to kill. I doubt they will have irvin and Jackson on the set together next year. Either that or they will have to separate them like grade school teachers do with kids that can't behave together. Actually...not a bad analogy...Irvin and a misbehavin' grade schooler.

[Tarlam!]

I spent more time reading the posts of Nutz and Harvey because they know a ton about each prospect and were more relevant than the ESPN fluff fest...

Suck up! I like you better as an antagonist.

Well, I only had Sirius NFL radio via the web. That was O.K. in round 1, after that, they spent more time interviewing over the top of selections that I couldn't hear who was picked or what trades were made. On day 2, the NFL.com was 3 picks behind in coverage!

If it weren't for our draft thread, I would still be catching up on who made what picks! TOP JOB Rat-Journo's!!!

[Homer Jay]

Somebody mentioned Monday Night Football. I have a feeling a future poll question might be: Who made you turn down the sound quicker, Dennis Miller or Tony Kornheiser? The thought of Theismann and Kornheiser in the same booth sends shivers down my back. And not in a good way.

[gureski]

We need to figure out who and how to contact someone at ESPN to let them know our disdain for the way they handled the draft coverage. If we don't, we're sure to see more of the same next year because I believe the ratings for this draft were great. We can't let them think their change in format worked. The reason ratings were good was because this draft was a great draft to cover and watch. It wasn't their fluff and diverse opinions.

Anyone have any ideas? A writing campaign or e-mail campaign?

It was just sick and I'll be damned if I'm going to let some fast talking producer ruin one of my favorite events of the year so they can sell womens soap and crap during commercials. We need to act on this and take back our draft before it's too late.

[MJZiggy]

ESPN Television
ESPN Plaza
Bristol, CT 06010
e-mail: ESPN Television

[MJZiggy]

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?page=contact/espntv

Comment form on website.

Tear into 'em. (Make sure you mention that Hendo was the best person on the program)